This paper reports on experiments aimed at developing a new high-intensity H{sup -} ion source with long lifetime whose concept had recently been introduced. Starting from the motivation for this effort, several steps of the earlier development work are recapitulated, and the performance of the latest design variant is discussed in detail. The basic concept consists in coupling an ECR ion source to a standard SNS multi-cusp H{sup -} ion source that is driven by pulsed dc, rather than rf, power. As a key result, an electron beam of 1.5 A current has been extracted from the ECR discharge operating at 1.9 kW c. w. power, and a maximum discharge current of 17.5 A was achieved in the H{sup -} ion source. Production of H{sup -} ions, however could not yet been demonstrated in the one, preliminary, experiment conducted so far. The paper concludes by outlining further envisaged development steps for the plasma generator and an expansion towards a novel extraction system.

Collecting debris samples following a nuclear event requires that operations be conducted from a considerable stand-off distance. An ultra-wide range gamma detector system has been constructed to accomplish both long range radiation search and close range hot sample collection functions. Constructed and tested on a REMOTEC Andros platform, the system has demonstrated reliable operation over six orders of magnitude of gamma dose from 100's of uR/hr to over 100 R/hr. Functional elements include a remotely controlled variable collimator assembly, a NaI(Tl)/photomultiplier tube detector, a proprietary digital radiation instrument, a coaxially mounted video camera, a digital compass, and both local and remote control computers with a user interface designed for long range operations. Long range sensitivity and target location, as well as close range sample selection performance are presented.

We compare several different parallel implementation approaches for the clustering operations performed during adaptive gridding operations in patch-based structured adaptive mesh refinement (SAMR) applications. Specifically, we target the clustering algorithm of Berger and Rigoutsos (BR91), which is commonly used in many SAMR applications. The baseline for comparison is a simplistic parallel extension of the original algorithm that works well for up to O(10{sup 2}) processors. Our goal is a clustering algorithm for machines of up to O(10{sup 5}) processors, such as the 64K-processor IBM BlueGene/Light system. We first present an algorithm that avoids the unneeded communications of the simplistic approach to improve the clustering speed by up to an order of magnitude. We then present a new task-parallel implementation to further reduce communication wait time, adding another order of magnitude of improvement. The new algorithms also exhibit more favorable scaling behavior for our test problems. Performance is evaluated on a number of large scale parallel computer systems, including a 16K-processor BlueGene/Light system.

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are quickly becoming attractive alternative energy sources for transportation, stationary power, and small electronics due to the increasing cost and environmental hazards of traditional fossil fuels. Two main classes of PEMFCs include hydrogen/air or hydrogen/oxygen fuel cells and direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). The current benchmark membrane for both types of PEMFCs is Nafion, a perfluorinated sulfonated copolymer made by DuPont. Nafion copolymers exhibit good thermal and chemical stability, as well as very high proton conductivity under hydrated conditions at temperatures below 80 degrees C. However, application of these membranes is limited due to their high methanol permeability and loss of conductivity at high temperatures and low relative humidities. These deficiencies have led to the search for improved materials for proton exchange membranes. Potential PEMs should have good thermal, hydrolytic, and oxidative stability, high proton conductivity, selective permeability, and mechanical durability over long periods of time. Poly(arylene ether)s, polyimides, polybenzimidazoles, and polyphenylenes are among the most widely investigated candidates for PEMs. Poly(arylene ether)s are a promising class of proton exchange membranes due to their excellent thermal and chemical stability and high glass transition temperatures. High proton conductivity can be achieved through post-sulfonation of poly(arylene …

The objective of this work is to improve the process for CO{sub 2} capture by alkanolamine absorption/stripping by developing an alternative solvent, aqueous K{sub 2}CO{sub 3} promoted by piperazine. Modeling of stripper performance suggests that vacuum stripping may be an attractive configuration for all solvents. Flexipac 1Y structured packing performs in the absorber as expected. It provides twice as much mass transfer area as IMTP No.40 dumped packing. Independent measurements of CO{sub 2} solubility give a CO{sub 2} loading that is 20% lower than that Cullinane's values with 3.6 m PZ at 100-120 C. The effective mass transfer coefficient (K{sub G}) in the absorber with 5 m K/2.5 m PZ appears to be 0 to 30% greater than that of 30 wt% MEA.

In this note I describe an inexpensive and simple laser-based method to measure the flatness of the LSST focal plane assembly (FPA) in situ, i.e. while the FPA is inside its cryostat, at -100 C and under vacuum. The method may also allow measurement of the distance of the FPA to lens L3, and may be sensitive enough to measure gravity- and pressure-induced deformations of L3 as well. The accuracy of the method shows promise to be better than 1 micron.

The authors report a search for the decays B{sup 0} {yields} D{sub s}{sup -}D{sub s}{sup +}, B{sup 0} {yields} D*{sub s}{sup -}D{sub s}{sup +} and B{sup 0} {yields} D*{sub s}{sup -}D*{sub s}{sup +} in a sample of 232 million {Upsilon}(4S) decays to B{bar B} pairs collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy e{sup +}e{sup -} storage ring. They find no significant signal and set upper bounds for the branching fractions: {Beta}(B{sup 0} {yields} D{sub s}{sup -}D{sub s}{sup +}) < 1.0 x 10{sup -4}, {Beta}(B{sup 0} {yields} D*{sub s}{sup -} D{sub s}{sup +}) < 1.3 x 10{sup -4} and {Beta}(B{sup 0} {yields} D*{sub s}{sup -} D*{sub s}{sup +}) < 2.4 x 10{sup -4} at 90% confidence level.

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are quickly becoming attractive alternative energy sources for transportation, stationary power, and small electronics due to the increasing cost and environmental hazards of traditional fossil fuels. Two main classes of PEMFCs include hydrogen/air or hydrogen/oxygen fuel cells and direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). The current benchmark membrane for both types of PEMFCs is Nafion, a perfluorinated sulfonated copolymer made by DuPont. Nafion copolymers exhibit good thermal and chemical stability, as well as very high proton conductivity under hydrated conditions at temperatures below 80 °C. However, application of these membranes is limited due to their high methanol permeability and loss of conductivity at high temperatures and low relative humidities. These deficiencies have led to the search for improved materials for proton exchange membranes. Potential PEMs should have good thermal, hydrolytic, and oxidative stability, high proton conductivity, selective permeability, and mechanical durability over long periods of time. Poly(arylene ether)s, polyimides, polybenzimidazoles, and polyphenylenes are among the most widely investigated candidates for PEMs. Poly(arylene ether)s are a promising class of proton exchange membranes due to their excellent thermal and chemical stability and high glass transition temperatures. High proton conductivity can be achieved through post-sulfonation of poly(arylene ether) …

We present preliminary results of maximum-likelihood Dalitz plot analyses performed by the BABAR Collaboration of the charmless hadronic decays B{sup 0} {yields} K{sup +}{pi}{sup -}{pi}{sup 0}, B{sup +} {yields} K{sup +}{pi}{sup -}{pi}{sup +}, and B{sup +} {yields} {pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -}{pi}{sup +}. We report inclusive decay rates, as well as fractions and phases for intermediate resonant decays.We also report CP-violating charge asymmetries for intermediate resonant decays of neutral B mesons.

We analyze the scaling properties of inclusive hadron production in proton-proton and in heavy ion collisions from fixed target to collider energies. At large transverse momentum p{sub T}, the invariant cross section exhibits a power-like behavior Ed{sup 3}{sigma}/d{sup 3}p {proportional_to} p{sub T}{sup -n} at fixed transverse x, x{sub T} = 2|{bar p}{sub T}|/{radical}s, and fixed center-of-mass scattering angle {theta}{sub cm}. Knowledge of the exponent n allows one to draw conclusions about the production mechanisms of hadrons, which are poorly known, even at high p{sub T}. We find that high-p{sub T} hadrons are produced by different mechanisms at fixed-target and collider energies. For pions, higher-twist subprocesses where the pion is produced directly dominate at fixed target energy, while leading-twist partonic scattering plus fragmentation is the most important mechanism at collider energies. High-p{sub T} baryons on the other hand appear to be produced by higher-twist mechanisms at all available energies. The higher-twist mechanism of direct proton production can be verified experimentally by testing whether high p{sub T} protons are produced as single hadrons without accompanying secondaries. In addition, we find that medium-induced gluon radiation in heavy ion collisions can violate scaling.

This article calculates the energy gain of a single relativistic electron interacting with a single gaussian beam that is terminated by a metallic reflector at normal incidence by two different methods: the electric field integral along the path of the electron, and the overlap integral of the transition radiation pattern from the conductive foil with the laser beam. It is shown that for this instance the two calculation methods yield the same expression for the expected energy change of the electron.

The light-front quantization of gauge theories in light-cone gauge provides a frame-independent wavefunction representation of relativistic bound states, simple forms for current matrix elements, explicit unitarity, and a Fock space built on a trivial vacuum. The AdS/CFT correspondence has led to important insights into the properties of quantum chromodynamics even though QCD is a broken conformal theory. We have recently shown how a model based on a truncated AdS space can be used to obtain the hadronic spectrum of q{bar q}, qqq and gg bound states, as well as their respective light-front wavefunctions. Specific hadrons are identified by the correspondence of string modes with the dimension of the interpolating operator of the hadron's valence Fock state, including orbital angular momentum excitations. The predicted mass spectrum is linear M {proportional_to} L at high orbital angular momentum, in contrast to the quadratic dependence M{sup 2}/L found in the description of spinning strings. Since only one parameter, the QCD scale {Lambda}{sub QCD}, is introduced, the agreement with the pattern of physical states is remarkable. In particular, the ratio of {Delta} to nucleon trajectories is determined by the ratio of zeros of Bessel functions. As a specific application of QCD dynamics from AdS/CFT duality, …

Many particle accelerator applications can benefit from online pulse-by-pulse nonintercepting emittance measurement system. Recently, there has been much interest in performing such a measurement with a set of resonant quadrupole-mode cavities. This article explores a geometry to achieve an enhanced shunt impedance in such a cavity by adding a set of posts forming capacitive gaps near the beam pipe outer radius. For typical diagnostic cavity applications, a five-fold increase in shunt impedance can be obtained with this method. The effect of errors in cavity fabrication on the required mode structure are explored.

We present the first results from a very deep Chandra X-ray observation of the core of the Perseus cluster of galaxies. A pressure map reveals a clear thick band of high pressure around the inner radio bubbles. The gas in the band must be expanding outward and the sharp front to it is identified as a shock front, yet we see no temperature jump across it; indeed there is more soft emission behind the shock than in front of it. We conclude that in this inner region either thermal conduction operates efficiently or the co-existing relativistic plasma seen as the radio mini-halo is mediating the shock. If common, isothermal shocks in cluster cores mean that we cannot diagnose the expansion speed of radio bubbles from temperature measurements alone. They can at times expand more rapidly than currently assumed without producing significant regions of hot gas. Bubbles may also be significantly more energetic. The pressure ripples found in earlier images are identified as isothermal sound waves. A simple estimate based on their amplitude confirms that they can be an effective distributed heat source able to balance radiative cooling.We see multiphase gas with about 10{sup 9}M{sub {circle_dot}} at a temperature of about …

A matrix formalism is developed to describe the spin dynamics in a synchrotron near a single depolarization resonance as the particle energy (and therefore its spin precession frequency) is varied in a prescribed pattern as a function of time such as during acceleration. This formalism is first applied to the case of crossing the resonance with a constant crossing speed and a finite total step size, and then applied also to other more involved cases when the single resonance is crossed repeatedly in a prescribed manner consisting of linear ramping segments or sudden jumps. How repeated crossings produce an interference behavior is discussed using the results obtained. For a polarized beam with finite energy spread, a spin echo experiment is suggested to explore this interference effect.

To relate in-vivo microscopic retinal changes to visual function assessed with clinical tests in patients with various forms of retinal dystrophies. The UC Davis Adaptive Optics (AO) Fundus Camera was used to acquire in-vivo retinal images at the cellular level. Visual function tests, consisting of visual field analysis, multifocal electroretinography (mfERG), contrast sensitivity and color vision measures, were performed on all subjects. Five patients with different forms of retinal dystrophies and three control subjects were recruited. Cone densities were quantified for all retinal images. In all images of diseased retinas, there were extensive areas of dark space between groups of photoreceptors, where no cone photoreceptors were evident. These irregular features were not seen in healthy retinas, but were characteristic features in fundi with retinal dystrophies. There was a correlation between functional vision loss and the extent to which the irregularities occurred in retinal images. Cone densities were found to decrease with an associated decrease in retinal function. AO fundus photography is a reliable technique for assessing and quantifying the changes in the photoreceptor layer as disease progresses. Furthermore, this technique can be useful in cases where visual function tests give borderline or ambiguous results, as it allows visualization of individual …

The BaBar experiment at SLAC is designed to measure CP violation in the B meson system, however the very high statistics combined with the different e{sup +} and e{sup -} beam energies, the detector design and the open trigger allow a wide variety of spectroscopic measurements. We are beginning to tap this potential via several production mechanisms. Here we present recent results from initial state radiation, hadronic jets, few body B and D hadron decays, and interactions in the detector material. We also summarize measurements relevant to D{sub s} meson spectroscopy, pentaquarks and charmonium spectroscopy from multiple production mechanisms.

The recent rise of ''computer-assisted'' and ''experimental'' mathematics raises intriguing questions as to the future role of computation in mathematics. These results also draw into question the traditional distinctions that have been drawn between formal proof and computationally-assisted proof. This article explores these questions in the context of the growing consensus among computer technologists that Moore's Law is likely to continue unabated for quite some time into the future, producing hardware and software much more powerful than what is available today.

There has been concern and uncertainty about the level of O incorporation in plastic shells prepared by coating mandrels with plasma polymer (GDP) and the Ge-doped analogs. In FY05 we undertook a controlled study of the rate of oxidation under various conditions, both to quantify the levels and to determine methods for restricting the le levels. Our results are shown in the Figure below. In summary, the level can be kept to less than 0.2 atom % by pyrolyzing the shells at 300 C (which is necessary for the removal of the P{alpha}MS mandrel), and then restricting the exposure to air to less than about 100 hours, which is easy to do. Based on this result we believe the NIF capsule specification for O can safely be lowered to 0.2 atom %, and this level should be used in future design calculations.

UmuD{sub 2} cleaves and removes its N-terminal 24 amino acids to form UmuD'{sub 2}, which activates UmuC for its role in UV-induced mutagenesis in E. coli. Cells with a non-cleavable UmuD exhibit essentially no UV-induced mutagenesis and are hypersensitive to killing by UV light. UmuD has been shown to bind to the beta processivity clamp (''beta'') of the replicative DNA polymerase, pol III. A possible beta-binding motif has been predicted in the same region of UmuD shown to be important for its interaction with beta. We performed alanine-scanning mutagenesis of this motif (14-TFPLF-18) in UmuD and showed that it has a moderate influence on UV-induced mutagenesis but is required for the cold sensitive phenotype caused by elevated levels of wild-type UmuD and UmuC. Surprisingly, the wild-type and the beta-binding motif variant bind to beta with similar K{sub d} values as determined by changes in tryptophan fluorescence. However, this data also implies that the single tryptophan in beta is in strikingly different environments in the presence of the wild-type versus the variant UmuD proteins, suggesting a distinct change in some aspect of the interaction with little change in its strength. Despite the fact that this novel UmuD variant is noncleavable, we …